Choices In The Tiger, The Jackal, And A Pair Of

Choices. Nobody likes them, and nobody wants to have to make them. Making choices can be about simple subjects, like what to eat for breakfast or what outfit to wear. They can have such little consequences that they are not even noticed. But they can also be the difference between success and failure. They can have consequences so big that they can make anyone lose their mind. In the short stories “The Tiger, The Brahman, and The Jackal,” by Sara Cone Bryant, “The Cold Equations,” by Tom Godwin, and “A Pair of Silk Stockings,” by Kate Chopin, each of the story’s central characters face difficult choices that are presented in the form of the character’s internal or external conflicts which influence the decisions of the characters and expose
Ultimately, the jackal makes the right choice by deceiving the Tiger into getting himself in a situation that he cannot get himself out of. In the short story, the Jackal displays his choice to help the Brahman when he says, ‘“It’s very odd, but it all seems to go in at one ear and out at the other! I will go to the place where it all happened, and then perhaps I shall be able to give a judgement”’ (Sara Cone Bryant, paragraph 14). This quote shows that the Jackal ultimately decided to do the right thing and help the Brahman, who is obviously in distress. This decision also demonstrates the values of the Jackal, which include reason and sympathy as he considers the situation of the Brahman and willingly decides that he may be able to help. Another instance in which the Jackal follows through with his
Sommers is faced with a challenging internal conflict of choosing between rationality and spending her money wisely on gifts for her family or giving in to her temptations and treating herself to a luxurious day in which buys herself a large variety of lavish items that she has not enjoyed since before she married. Progressively, Mrs. Sommers cannot contain her desires any longer and makes a tremendous mistake when she impulsively spends her money on exorbitant products for herself rather than beneficial purchases for her family. In the short story, Mrs. Sommers demonstrates her originally rational thoughts on spending her money wisely when the story states that, ‘“For a day or two she walked about apparently in a dreamy state, but really absorbed in speculation and calculation. She did not wish to act hastily, to do anything she might afterward regret”’ (Kate Chopin, page 1). This description of Mrs. Sommers’s actions show that her original values at the beginning the story can be identified as selfless. She wishes to spend her money with prudence and on products that are not for just her own benefit, but for her children’s gain as well. At a further point in the short story, Mrs. Sommers’s values change when the story reads, ‘“She was not thinking at all. She seemed for the time to be taking a rest from that laborious and fatiguing function and to have abandoned herself to some mechanical impulse that directed her